Transformed

Learning the Way -Transformed

This week’s message centered on one term and one concept.

The term: disciple. We learned that a disciple of Jesus is different from disciple’s of other Rabbis in a few different ways. One was that a disciple of Jesus is not focused simply on learning. Instead, a disciple of Jesus is one who has been fundamentally transformed because they’ve met Jesus, our savior and messiah. Learning is a part of being a disciple, but we dare not make it an idol that would lead us to worship legalism instead of Him. Have there been times that you, as a disciple, have struggled with this? Do you retreat toward information instead of being transformed by our Rabbi?

The concept comes from Ephesians 4:17-32. Have someone in your group read this passage aloud. The concept Paul is conveying comes in three steps. One, we are to put off our old self. Two, we are to be renewed in the spirit of our mind. Three, we are to put on our new self.

It isn’t good enough for us to just stop lying. Instead, we should speak truth to each other because we are members one of another. The renewing of our minds comes through the word of God. So, if you’re struggling with feeling anxious because you want to please people, it isn’t good enough to simply tell yourself to stop being anxious. Instead, you take off that old spirit of anxiety. You renew your mind by speaking truth to yourself rather than listening to your feelings. And you put on the new self, trusting in God and His truths rather than in men. Have someone read Jeremiah 17:5-8. Confess to your group areas where you struggle to take off the old self. Find and share scripture with each other that speaks to the sin your struggling with.